


lucid dreaming

by sandpapersnowman



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Branding, Disfigurement, Pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 01:19:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2754206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandpapersnowman/pseuds/sandpapersnowman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The nights are getting longer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lucid dreaming

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Осознанные сновидения](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2953700) by [ToraTallium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToraTallium/pseuds/ToraTallium)



> wow thats a terrible title  
> on tumblr [here](http://illegalcockbiting.tumblr.com/post/104395406247/), dedicated to the lovely [red](http://glitchedwitch.tumblr.com/)

Since he’s taken Nakayama’s ID data, when he sleeps, his dreams are much different.

He feels like he’s being watched, but he can’t quite place who or where they are; he just spins in circles in the dark, chasing his own tail as he tries to catch a glimpse of whoever is lurking behind him.

"Pathetic," echoes in his mind, bouncing off the walls he can’t see. Something strikes him as wrong, then, because the echo was a whisper. That doesn’t make sense.

"Congrats, you’ve nailed basic acoustics," echoes too, and something about the voice is familiar.

It makes his stomach turn.

"Hello?" he asks out loud.

The response he gets is two hands from behind him grabbing him by the sides of his face, yanking his head back until he’s lost his footing. He doesn’t fall, though; it feels like he’s being pulled down through water, heavy and without air. The fingers dig into his cheeks and forehead, but it’s almost a pleasant pressure.

A finger begins rubbing at the port on his temple, and it feels weird in a way that stops his lungs from breathing. All he can see is Jack in front of him, leaning in close to his face and grinning. It feels like a memory, but he knows he’s never been this close to Jack. He’s not wearing his mask, either, and nobody’s seen him without his mask (and lived) in years.

"You better be able to handle all this, kiddo," Jack tells him, now right in front of him. "I’ve been waiting for someone like you," he sighs. It’s become apparent now that it’s Jack’s hands on his face, though now that he can see Jack in front of him, it feels like his hands are oriented properly. Were they like that the whole time?

Rhys wants to struggle, but he feels totally paralyzed. Jack is way too close. This isn’t a memory, but it doesn’t feel like a dream.

Jack’s finger jabs a bit at his port, and Rhys winces.

"You’re lucky, y’know." Jack’s other hand comes over his face, tracing an odd pattern from one side of his jaw up to his forehead, then back down to the other side of his jaw.

The path starts warming, and he thinks he’s just imagining it until it gets hotter. It’s burning now, and he swears he can see the light from his face casting a pattern on Jack’s. He can’t see out of his left eye, now, and he might be screaming in pain. He doesn’t know.

"Me," Jack continues, "I had to wear this mark." Jack grits his teeth as he clamps a hand down over Rhys’s mouth to shut him up. "I couldn’t keep the knowledge  _and_  my beautiful face, so why do you?”

Rhys wakes up sweating and overheated, face still feeling like he has hundreds of pounds of hot coals resting on it.

He checks the time in his palm, and realizes he’s only been asleep a couple minutes.

The nights are getting longer.

**Author's Note:**

> did you know you can find me on [tumblr](http://sandpapersnowman.tumblr.com/ao3direct)? : O


End file.
